Phillies Scoop: Home-run celebration has Marlins rankled

PHILADELPHIA -- Apparently in lieu of winning, say, 50 games this season, the Miami Marlins are going to attempt to set a record for most bulletin-board postings for a season.

The last time they came to Philly, the saddest-sack team in baseball got their scales ruffled when the Daily Times described them as "sad-sack" in a headline. That was hung in the clubhouse with care and used that as motivation to win two straight against the Phillies ... and then lose 10 of the next 11.

Tuesday afternoon the buzz from the visiting clubhouse was that the Marlins did not appreciate Domonic Brown's actions both heading to first base and after crossing the plate with his National League-leading 17th home run in the Phillies' 7-2 win Monday night.

Brown, who culminated a tenacious at-bat by launching a 2-2 pitch into the right-field seats, gave an animated bat flip and clap while taking a wide route to first. After crossing the plate the hottest hitter in baseball did a celebratory fist bump with Ryan Howard, followed by a Japanese-style bow toward the dugout.

Charlie Manuel has been less concerned with that aspect of Brown's game and more focused on keeping his bat going by doing as little as possible to mess with his routine. Frankly, the manager isn't going to complain about anyone in his lineup showing some life.

"I think when you see a guy like Brown ... lots of times your team rallies around him," Manuel said. "They want to hit with him. How far it goes, we'll see."

As for Brown and the Marlins, Ricky Nolasco seemed more intent on shutting him down, and succeeded in retiring him all three times they went head-to-head.

The Phillies had a Carlos Ruiz bobblehead giveaway Tuesday night. What they did not have was Carlos Ruiz.

The catcher remains sideline by a hamstring injury, but hours before the game he was taking batting practice and the expectation is that next week he will be on a rehabilitation assignment in the minors.

Here is the dilemma: How much do you play Ruiz once he returns?

After having a horrid April while Ruiz was serving a 25-game suspension, Erik Kratz has been quietly mashing the ball in the shadow of Dom Brown. Since the start of May he is hitting .309 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 18 games (16 starts), including a game-tying double in the seventh inning Tuesday night.

"He's strong and he dangerous. He's very dangerous," Manuel said. "And if you throw the ball where he's swinging, he can put a hurtin' on you.

"Kratz can serve a purpose on your team. You can send him up there when you're down at the end of the game when you're two runs down and two guys on, and he might win the game for you. He has a chance, and that makes him very valuable."

NOTES: The Phils end their homestand against the Marlins, as Cole Hamels (1-9, 4.86) tries to avoid becoming the first Phillie to lose 10 or more games before the All-Star Break since Kyle Abbott was 0-11 in the first half of 1992. He'll go against Marlins prospect Jacob Turner, who threw seven shutout innings in his big-league debut over the weekend.